The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney will make his first visit to the Bathurst Diocese this weekend for the annual Synod meeting in the city.
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The Most Reverend Dr Glenn Davies will give a sermon in All Saints’ Cathedral on Friday from 6.30pm.
Anglican Bishop of Bathurst Ian Palmer said he is looking forward to welcoming Archbishop Davies to the city.
Bishop Palmer said around 100 Synod members from across the diocese will be coming to Bathurst for the gathering.
The Synod is the decision- making body for the Bathurst Diocese of the Anglican Church, and is made up of both clergy and lay people.
Bishop Palmer said this year’s Synod is particularly important because it will serve as a progress report on what is happening as far as the diocese’s finances are concerned.
Legal action is currently underway by the Common-wealth Bank to recover a $24 million debt owed by the Bathurst diocese.
Bishop Palmer said Synod was a time when the decisions that affect the diocese are made.
He added that it also provides members with the opportunity to ask questions.
Visitors will travel from as far afield as Coonamble, Bourke and West Wyalong, as well as from across the Central West.
Bishop Palmer said the Bathurst Diocese covers an area as big as England and Wales put together.
Synod has been held in Bathurst for the past couple of years because it is the home of All Saints’ Cathedral.
This year it was particularly appropriate because of the Archbishop of Sydney’s participation.
“As a diocese we have a really good relationship with him. I am so pleased he is coming,” he said.
Bishop Palmer will address the Synod at 9am on Saturday morning.
“One of the things I will speak about is how we can carry out ministry in far western NSW,” he said.
“It is becoming increasingly difficult because of the financial situation the diocese is facing, and also because it is more difficult nowadays to live and work in those areas.”
Bishop Palmer said in addition, Synod will give clergy and lay people an opportunity to talk about the practical implications of the financial crisis facing the diocese.
“We will look at how we do ministry in more challenging circumstances, what we are going to be asking of the diocese, and how we (the church) is serving the communities of which we are a part,” he said.
